Denver Post publisher Mac Tully and editor Lee Ann Colacioppo issued a statement on Monday describing the tweet from its columnist Terry Frei as “disrespectful and unacceptable” and said that Frei is no longer an employee of the newspaper.

Takuma Sato’s victory for Andretti Autosport-Honda last Sunday was the first win for a Japanese driver in the 101-year history of the Indianapolis 500. Sato was also the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race, when he triumphed at Long Beach in 2013, driving for AJ Foyt Racing.

Frei’s tweet in reaction to Sato's Indy victory read: “Nothing specifically personal, but I am very uncomfortable with a Japanese driver winning the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day weekend.”

It triggered a huge backlash on social media, and although Frei later deleted the tweet and issued a lengthy apology, he was let go anyway.

The statement from Tully and Colacioppo read: “We apologize for the disrespectful and unacceptable tweet that was sent by one of our reporters.

"Terry Frei is no longer an employee of The Denver Post.

"It’s our policy not to comment further on personnel issues.

"The tweet doesn’t represent what we believe nor what we stand for. We hope you will accept our profound apologies.”